Everywhere I have gone this past week, I seem to run into someone that is doing Whole30. It feels like it really has become its own community this month. It’s been a lot of fun talking with people and hearing what their experiences have been. One of the first blog posts I wrote was on my first Whole30 experience. It has been one of my most popular posts, so I thought it would be really beneficial to do a week by week recap of my round 2, Whole30 experience. So let me share with you a Whole30 week 1 recap.
Why I Decided To Do Whole30 Again
If you read my last post, you know my husband and I did our first Whole30 in May, 2017. The first week, I honestly wasn’t sold on the program. In fact, I told a few close family members that I didn’t get the big hype. To be completely honest, I was a little unsure of the program most of my time through it. There were days a felt great, but other days I just felt awful (which I knew was part of it). But I wondered, seriously, is it worth it? Does this yoyo of physical feelings really pay off?
For me, the big eye opener came once Whole30 concluded, and I went back to normal eating. I quickly realized how amazing I actually felt during the 30 days. If you want to read more about the experience, check out the blog post here. I decided to do Whole30 again to see what I discovered my second time through, now knowing what my trigger foods are, and having changed our eating habits quite a bit. I know I may get a different perspective the second time through. After our first round, I have changed so many ways I buy and cook food. I have always been a very healthy and clean eater, but I quickly learned there was more I could be doing. Clean and healthy eating does not have to require a huge grocery budget and a lot of time.
How My Grocery Shopping and Meal Plan Went for Whole30 Week 1
I used the Whole30 week 1 meal plan that I sent to my e-mail subscribers, as a guide for the week. I went grocery shopping and bought the ingredients to make most of these meals and almost completely stuck to them, just changing up what days I made what. My groceries lasted me all week and I only made 1 extra trip to the grocery store. We used all of the fruits and vegetables that I cut up at the beginning of the week and we embraced all of the leftovers! My kids ate everything I made, and discovered some new foods they didn’t know they liked. The roast I made in my new Instant Pot (that I am loving) was absolutely delicious and I may never go back to the old way I use to make roast.
How I Felt Physically During Whole30 Week 1
- Day 1 & 2: Easy – I made meals that I cook on a regular basis so it didn’t feel like much of a change.
- Day 3: Hangover day set in. I felt like I had an actual hangover, I woke up grouchy, my head was pounding and I felt so lethargic.
- Day 4: The headache subsided, I had energy again, and felt really good, just bloated and a bit blah in the digestive area.
- Day 5: I felt so good! My body felt clean and flushed out, my energy seemed normal, and I was feeling a little less bloated.
- Day 6: My skin cleared up, praise Jesus!
- Day 7: No real changes, the day seemed pretty normal.
Staple Items That I Used This Week
Avocados: Seriously, stock up on so many avocados. I put them in probably 85% of our meals! They are a really great addition that is quick and versatile.
Trader Joes Green Goddess Salad Dressing: If you follow me on Instagram, you know I just discovered this amazing salad dressing, after walking by it multiple times, previously. It is delicious and you can add it to so many different dishes. It is a good change up from the normal dressings.
Eggs: You may be a little sick of eggs by the end of day 30, and you’ll go through a lot of them. We went through so many dozen this week between breakfast and having hard boiled eggs on hand.
Nutpods Creamer: After my first Whole30, I got use to drinking my coffee black, then I discovered Nutpods. It definitely isn’t the delicious creamy creamer we all love, but it is better than black in my opinion, so I made the switch. I just ran out and really need to reorder because I’m missing it! I also love bulletproof, but hate getting the blender out and making it a big thing.
Seasonings and Spices: You can make SO many things from scratch. I made taco seasoning this week with the taco recipe I put in my week #1 meal guide. It was absolutely delicious and I will probably never buy taco seasoning mix ever again. It had some kick, so cut back on the cumin if you don’t like a kick, but YUM! The roast I made was full of spices I have always had in my pantry, just never used in a pot roast. It was so delicious!
Chicken: I add chicken to a lot of meals during Whole30, especially lunches. On Monday, I cooked up a bunch of chicken in my instant pot, and had it on hand all week when I needed to make something quick.
Moving on to Whole30 Week 2
Be sure to check out my weekly meal plan if you have subscribed to fitandhealthymomlife.com. If you haven’t subscribed and you want this meal plan, subscribe and I’ll send it to you! I will be doing some repeats of what we did in Week #1, but also trying some new recipes. I just got the Whole30 Fast & Easy Recipe Book (which is amazing) so I’ll be adding some of these into Week #3.
According to the Whole30 Timeline, During Week # 2…
- My pants will feel tight
- I will feel like quitting
- I may be way sick of eggs
- The week will end with an amazing amount of energy
So far, this second round of Whole30 is much easier and manageable for me, than the first round. I contribute it to:
- Meal Planning
- Meal Prepping
- Changing the way I cook and prepare my food after our first Whole30 experience
I am anxious to hear your takeaways throughout the program. If you just finished, Whole30 week 1, please feel free to comment on this post, send me an email, or direct message me on social media. I’d love to hear from you!
Below is a really easy crockpot chicken recipe from the Whole30 Fast & Easy Book. Enjoy!
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